In a major bad news for Mumbaikars, especially flyers , it has been revealed that the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport will be shut down for six hours on April 9 and April 10, due to repair and maintenance work, which the authorities plan to complete before monsoon season. This move by authorities will impact thousands of passengers who pass through Mumbai Airport on a daily basis heading for domestic and foreign destinations.

Work will be carried out on the intersection of cross runways ( 09/27 and 14/32) on 9 and 10 April 2018 between 11 am and 5 pm. Passengers will also receive messages concerning that day for either rescheduling or cancellation of their flights.

It was being known that, the maintenance work has to be carried out before the onset of monsoon season, which is why, slots (landing and take off timings) will not be available during this period.

Airlines that operated on the airport were advised to cancel or reschedule their flights during the closure period on 9 and 10 April 2018.

Also on it's website Jet Airways said, "Guests planning their travel during this period are requested to allow for sufficient time, in case of delays, while making their bookings." Click here, to know details of the Jet Airway flights which are being rescheduled or cancelled.

However, the repair process at Mumbai airport, does not end here, as another shutdown will be followed in October 23, in the same time slots, to carry out post-monsoon maintenance work on the Mumbai airport runway intersection. Thus, slots won’t be available during that day also.

A similar block shutdown movement was practiced between February 01 to February 17, by Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) authorities on main runway for few hours , which led to cancellation and delay in several flights.

The Mumbai report is considered as among the busiest in India, and as per reports, it was known that, in one day, the airport handled 980 flights -- arrivals and departures -- surpassing its previous record of 974 flights.

A Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, based in Sydney in its annual report 2017, highlighted that, Mumbai airport reached 94% of its maximum passenger handling capacity